Prince of Olympus
by SiriuslyScarredforLife
Summary: After Percy's apartment catches fire because of Gabe, his life is turned upside down. Now, he has no mother, no father and no home. What happens when some unexpected help arrives? Formerly owned by greekgirl211. Please review!
1. I Meet My Uncle (Sort of) Apollo I

**Er, hi... Guess I should feel bad about dumping my story for the past year or so and I really, _really _am. And I won't make any excuses. So yea... Anyway, I decided to give my story a major overhaul and I hope you like it more! Please give me feedback in the form of reviews :) I'm keeping the other version out there for sentimental reasons but please know I won't be updating that anymore, rather this one now.**

Prince of Olympus

It was Saturday when it all started. Of course, Apollo shouldn't really have been surprised with the choice of day. Great things had come, after all, on the sixth day of the week.

Apollo had been out jogging on his favourite trail down on Earth, in Downtown New York's park. It was snowing and the ground was covered in a light sheet of the white stuff, but what was the perk of being the sun god (or any god at all, actually) if you had to leave the house swathed in layers of cloth and wool. And besides, who was he to deny the ladies their eye candy?

So here he was, wearing a loose t-shirt that hung off his sculpted body and a pair of well-worn khaki pants in the middle of sunny December. Not the sarcasm.

The trail was quiet, except for the strain of music that played with the eerie silence of his surroundings , but then again, that may be partly because of the earphones hanging around his broad shoulders, and Apollo hummed as a particularly loud note of one on his favourite bands pierced through the silence and he mimed striking his electric guitar.

"~_Shoot to thrill, play to kill_

_Too many women with too many pills_

_Damn!~_"

Then Apollo saw a flash of black to his left. _What the-?_

He faltered in his steps, the song lyrics already dying on his tongue, before halting to a stop a second later. He quirked an eyebrow as he scrutinised his white surroundings.

The trail he had gone through was a particularly mist-concentrated area, which meant no human would be able to enter unless they had an _incredibly _single minded mind or could see through the mist. The reason being was because, while Apollo may love attention from ladies and men alike, he needed some space too at times and the trail wasn't his favourite just because of the thick underbrush of trees and peaceful setting.

His eyes twitched as a rustle, more obvious than the first, alerted him to a presence to a little ways beside him. He turned fully, his hands already posed to summon his quiver and bow.

"Hello?" he called unsurely. He killed the faint sounds coming from his earphones, which were now screaming at a high decibel. "Is anyone there?"

Another rustle, this time behind him. The faintest glimmer of wood formed at his palms.

"If this is you, Hermes, this's so not funny."

Apollo would lie if anyone mentioned that his heart was beating a little too erratically and his palms were a little too sweaty. Gods didn't scare easily, he tried to convince himself, even as his eyes flickered the clearing, In fact, we don't even scare at all! Unless it's Kronos or a select few monsters, is all.

And considering the fact that his senses would have tingled had it been a monster and that there were no signs of uprising from Tartarus in the past few months, he could say he was safe from those two options.

He twirled around, already notching an arrow into his fully formed bow as he spun to face his attacker.

_Gotcha-_

And he came face to face with a shocked yet careful looking child with black hair and green eyes.

Apollo let out a breath he hadn't realised he was holding. He sheathed his bow and arrow, quiver already dissipating in the smog and aimed a fleeting grin at the familiar looking kid.

"Hey, Uncle P!" he greeted enthusiastically because, Poseidon _was _Apollo's most favourite uncle, and his heart rate had just started settling down, thankfully (not that he would admit that to anyone, ever) "Whatcha' doin' in lovely New York at this time of year?"

His kid-uncle looked at him weirdly.

"What?"

Then Apollo was the one looking at him weirdly. His eyebrow raised like, 'Seriously?' and he uneasily mussed up his hair that hadn't even been jostled during his jog.

He laughed, deciding that Uncle P had been having an off-day, and, easily ignoring the look, tried to throw an arm around Poseidon.

Key word: _Tried_.

The moment he saw what Apollo had been about to do, the maybe-Poseidon ducked away.

His pupils, Apollo realised only now, were blown wide in fear and he was shaking all over. He backed away slowly, staring at Apollo like he'd just committed first-degree arson.

Okay, definitely _not _his Uncle.

"Poseidon?"

He reached out a hand but was rebuffed by a flinch.

"I'm sorry!" The poor kid wailed, and he seemed utterly terrified," Are you working for Gabe? Please don't hurt me!"

Trying to look harmless but not really sure he was succeeding, he _was _a tall, muscular(, _handsome_) man after all, Apollo put his hands up, because he knew (and he didn't even hang out with kids often and knew this easily enough) he wasn't supposed to be acting like that. He felt his eyes grew hard at the thought of someone ever laying a hand on someone as cute as this kid, or any kid at all (and no, just because this kid looked like his favourite Uncle did _not _make his bias)

"Hey," he said soothingly, backing away cautiously while he tried not to scare the kid," It's okay, I'm not this _Gabe _character, _nor _am I working for him. I'm the good guy! See-"

He flashed a winning smile.

The kid didn't budge.

Apollo sighed and rolled his eyes. Stupid evil people abusing little kids.

"Look, kid," he said, dropping the pretenses and just squatting down to his level (_please don't let Hermes see me right now_)," I don't like people hurting little people like you so if you'd just tell me what happened, I won't hurt you and I won't do anything to you."

The kid sniffled, once, twice, then rubbed at his eyes that were red but not puffy. He cocked his head to the side and stared at him funnily and, Apollo noted a little self-satisfied, a little more trust.

"Really?"

And Apollo took the time to take in the appearance of him. Upon closer inspection he saw that he didn't look as good as he did from far away. His clothes were rumpled, and a little big on his small frame, and he was more grimy then he'd thought at first. But Apollo would still stand by the thought that he looked like Poseidon. As in _very _much, doppleganger standards.

"Yes, really, but-" His curiosity peaked," Do you mind if I ask you who your dad is? You look so much like a friend of mine that it's creepy."

And just like that, the kid withdrew back into his shell and his eyes glistened with unshed tears.

"My mom-!" he gasped, as though suddenly coming to a realisation. He tugged at Apollo's arm," You gotta save my mom!"

Apollo didn't know whether he was curious and just wanted to see the kid's mother for himself, or felt an overwhelming urge to help a kid he only met a few seconds ago (and didn't know the name of yet)_, _but a second and a half later, they were out of his beloved woods and on the street, shoes pounding hard on the pavement. The kid, flat out sprinting, while Apollo jogged briskly beside him. There went a calm day jogging.

**Hope you liked it! ****And REVIEW!**

**-Greekgirl211 turned SiriuslyScarredForLife (please check out my other stories, Avenger fans!)**


	2. I Become a Parent (What the-?) Apollo II

**Hey! Thanks for all the marvelous reviews! Siriusly, luuuurvin iiit 3 :D Anyway, I wanted to wait until next Sat to post this up by I had an itch that told me to just post it now! Hope you lovelies enjoy this update, and remember to give me support by reviewing (hopefully with constructive critisism and helpful tacks to add -or even a comment about how the story's going!- I'm not picky ;D)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the awesomeness that is the PJO series. Rick Riordan does. He's, like, daddy awesome.**

**p.s. I corrected some mistakes in the last chapter so sorry for any repeated story update emails *sour face***

Prince of Olympus

He didn't know what he was expecting when he followed the kid but it was certainly not _this_.

Apollo stared with horrified eyes as he watched the building burn down before his eyes, temporarily frozen by the sight. His little friend was at his side, hand still on his shirt but it had grown slack and he too was staring at the dying embers with a sort of broken pain that made Apollo want to _kill_.

It was clear that this was his house, his home, and that something had gone horribly, _horribly_, wrong within the four white walls but damn if Apollo knew more.

The sound of a beam falling broke him out of his horrid fascination.

"Kid!" he yelled back, even as he released his shirt and took a few running steps forward. He pinned him with his best serious stare. "Stay there and _don't_ _move."_

And he was in the building, hearing protests stream behind him.

If there were any time Apollo was glad for his godly powers, it was definitely now. I mean, he wasn't any Hephaestus or anything but a sun god's powers weren't something to sneeze about.

He bypassed the thick smoke with no problem, only covering his face out of habit, and got to work with finding any survivors. The fire brigades' sirens sounded in the distance, but Apollo doubted they'd get here fast enough to save anybody. It was up to him, and him alone to save the kid's mother, and maybe, his father too, not that he knew since he hadn't mentioned having any of said relative (which _really _peaked his suspicions but now was not the time to think about that yet)

It was only when he knocked down the fifth door when he really got lucky.

Amidst the charred wood and blackened walls, there was a woman, and a man.

He hesitated briefly before kneeling beside the woman. _She _was the main priority here, and, if his head was screwed on right, the kid hadn't mentioned any other male's names other than a Gabe, and Apollo didn't really think he should prioritise him first if he did what he thought he did.

"Ma'am?" he asked briefly, because while the smoke brought no harm to him, it was a different story for humans and this much in one room was deadly," Ma'am, are you awake?"

There was a terrible moment when he thought the woman had died on him, no pulse in her wrist, no movement at his jostling. But then her heart gave a sudden lurch and her eyes fluttered open and she started taking choking gasps.

Her eyes, he realised, were a startling turbulent green, like the ocean on a bad day, and they widened at the sight of him.

"Per-cy!" she gasped painfully. Her eyes screwed shut against the smoke. "Is my son alright?"

Apollo's mind flashed to the kid that he found in the park. _Percy_?

Huh.

"He's alright," he reassured the woman," He's with me. And he's waiting to see you, so don't die on me!"

Her body relaxed at his words," He's- alright?"

"Yes, but you've got to stay with me- stay with me until we get you to a hospital-" _or I can get you to a place that's _not _burning to the ground so I can heal you_, he added mentally.

She cut him off with a hand on his, which, he realized with a jolt, had moved to hold her by the shoulders forcefully.

Green eyes met his, and they bore into his soul, making him feel small, like he was laying all the good and bad things down on the table for everyone to see. He tensed (he hated feeling like that), but then the woman nodded, seemingly approving what she saw.

Her hands clenched around his, stronger than they'd had before.

"Take care of him," she told him, earnestly, seriously, and before Apollo could answer, her hand went slack and her body finally relaxed.

"Ma'am?" he asked panicky, because what just happened _did not_ just happen. "Ma'am?!"

No response, and no pulse either when he placed his hand on the inner side of her wrist.

Apollo felt like the world had just been pulled out from underneath his feet.

She was dead.

Percy's mother was dead, his house was burning down, he had no father (or if he did, he had his suspicions that it was an abusive one), and a wayward god had just been put in charge of his health for future years to come.

Nemesis must hate the boy.

He felt his eyes grow solemn, "I will."

And the beam above them cracked ominously and he was forced to move.

Bending down, he placed his hands on the woman's brow, "Άδη μπορεί να σας χορηγήσει την ειρήνη"

And he was backing out of the room, not even bothering with the man, feeling as though he'd grown up more in five minutes than he had whole centuries.

**So? Whaddaya think? Sorry it was so short but it was sorta a filler chapter, like how Percy ended up in Apollo's care and what not.**

**Άδη μπορεί να σας χορηγήσει την ειρήνη - May Hades grant you peace**

**REVIEW!**

**p.s. I'll be updating next Saturday this time, no ifs and buts :)**


	3. I Get a Kid Apollo III

**Heey! See, I managed to keep a promise :D Anyway, I'm not really happy with this but I don't know how to make it better (and I really don't want to re-write it :P) Alrighty, then, I think I have some reviews to address:**

**guest: I think I'm gonna stick to my previous plot line, but your idea's _tres_ awesome too! Maybe I could pursue that line of thought when I finish this fic...**

**magicdemi-god223: Yea, but, you see, I have a sort of problem with emotions. Like I told someone before, I have an emotional range of a teaspoon. We don't really mix. Specially sadness. Sorry bout that, but I'll try to improve!**

**To the rest of you, THANK YOU FOR ALL THE GREAT REVIEWS! Really made my day and all! (And my bro kept asking why I kept giggling like a crazy woman very time I looked at my computer)**

**Also, I dedicate the story to believe in the guardians who was the one who mainly pushed the production of the story and who helped me get my inspiration back! Love ya awesome nerd! (Props to those who know which movie that came from :D)**

Prince of Olympus

When Apollo emerged from the burning house, his shirt was blackened, his shorts were cut up, and his hair was sooty, but all he felt was a sort of numbness, a buzzing in his head negating any emotions.

Vaguely, he noticed that the fire brigade had arrived and that a crowd had formed around the burning building, but what he focused on, as in _really _focused on, was the little kid under the canopy of the snow fallen trees, watching as his life burned to a crisp. _Percy_.

He ignored the fireman that had approached him asking questions and, pushed his way through the crowd, kneeling beside him.

"I'm sorry."

Then Percy was crying, heart-wrenching, broken sobs that shook his frame and Apollo wasted no time in gathering him in his arms and holding him.

This felt so wrong, like it shouldn't be Apollo who was hugging him, but his mother. But also so right, like, at the same time, it should be. (Did that make any sense?)

It was confusing, but also a good feeling and he wondered whether this was how parents felt like when they were comforting their kids, how he should have been feeling if he weren't a god and spending more time with _his _kids.

A tap on his shoulder pulled him from his rapidly darkening thoughts and he pulled away slightly from Percy to look up at the officer.

"Sir," he said in a brisk, detached manner that matched his crisp uniform and made Apollo's hackles rise at how utterly _unemotional _he sounded," Is the child with you the son of the woman who died in the fire?"

"_Y-_" The answer was on the tip of his tongue, but something stopped the rest from coming out. Call it protectiveness, but Apollo didn't really feel that the police would go the right way when dealing with Percy, and besides, his mom _did _make Apollo his legal guardian. "Yes, but he's also my charge."

He rose to his full height, but while Percy shuffled to hide behind him, pulling out of his hug, and away from the officer's eyes, he noted, with satisfaction, that he didn't remove his grip from his hand.

Said officer blinked. Then waved a frizzy haired man over.

"Jones," he called out," Is there any listings of any guardians for Mr. Percy Jackson, other than his mother?"

The other man flipped through his notes," Why, no, sir, I can't find any-" Apollo snapped his fingers behind his back,"-Oh, there it is, Fred Solace. He's telling the truth, sir."

The officer gave him a look. "Alright, then, Mr. Solace. Since Ms. Jackson is now indisposed of, will you take the responsibility of accounting for Mr. Jackson's well-being?"

Apollo firmly nodded.

"Right, you'll have to come back with us for a while, sir, after this case is over so that you can fill up the necessary paper work for the adoption."

"Alright." But then his eyes grew hard, because, while they'd manage to cross that obstacle, they'd now come to the harder part and that was to find out what had happened to the kid's mother (and someone called Gabe?)

"What happened?"

The two shuffled uncomfortably and Apollo felt a sort of vindictive pleasure at making the sociopath officer squirm. He had no doubt in his mind at the moment that his aura was flaring, the result of a combination of the stress of the whole situation and pure anger at whoever had done this to Percy, and that it was causing the two mortals to feel an itch to run. A god's wrath was never pleasant.

The officer cleared his throat, disquieted," We don't know, Mr. Solace. Though the fire brigade has just arrived and the chief tells me the fire wasn't an accident."

His eyes narrowed," So it was started on purpose?"

"Yes, sir, arson. We don't know who started the fire, and why but the forensics will be here soon and-"

"It was Gabe."

The voice was soft, quiet, but filled with a silent sort of anger that burned behind his sea-green irises. They both looked to Percy, and Apollo was suddenly struck with a sense of déjà vu as he remembered how Poseidon looked when he watched some pair of teenagers dumping their trash in the Hudson River. A feeling of sick foreboding crept up to him, which he pushed away roughly.

"And who's Gabe, Percy?"

If possible, his eyes darkened again, from the dull green of a dead sea, to a dark, tenebrous green that spoke of crashing waves and overturned boats. Apollo resisted a shudder.

"My _step-father_," he spat the word out like a curse," He started the fire; I was there when he did it."

Both men froze.

"Where you hurt?"

"What for?"

Apollo resisted the urge to smack the man for not showing the least bit of concern for the kid.

"My birthday," he said shortly, answering the officer's question, before the fight seemed to drain out of him and he sighed, hanging his head low, tears gathering at his eyes," I said something stupid and Gabe didn't like it. He threw me into the wall, but when my mom tried to stop him, he grabbed the lighter that lit my cake's candles up and burned her," His voice quavered," She told me to run and I… I did. I didn't stop him. It was my fault she died…"

Acting on instinct, Apollo dropped to his knees and hugged the kid, muscles taut and jaw tense at the thought of someone ever hurting the kid, but knowing he had to reassure him it wasn't his fault. He forced himself to stay calm.

"No Perce," he hushed forcefully, glaring at the officer and his lackey to leave now _or else_ over his shoulder, to hell what they were writing. They'd hurt him enough. "It's not your fault! I mean, from what I've heard of this Gabe, he's a real asshat. You probably should be given a medal for _not _insulting his all these years and he had it coming. Besides, you did help your mom out in the end; you came to me, remember? Found me in the park and dragged me along to help you. I'm really sorry for not being able to save your mom, kiddo. But she knew you were safe and that's all she asks for. Even asked me to help you along to keep on the straight and narrow, and I'll stay forever, kay?"

And no, Apollo didn't think it was a little rash of him to announce that. The kid had just lost his family for gods' sakes! He needed some assurance that someone would stand by him, and even though Apollo had only met the kid a few moments ago, he really felt a sort of bond pulling him to him.

He'd just push aside his godly duties for a while, and ignore the calls Zeus made for him, unless it was _really _important. Nonetheless, he would be there for Percy where no one else would. He swore on the Styx.

The crash of thunder brought Apollo out of his musings and he realised that Percy had stopped crying and was staring at him with poorly hidden hopeful eyes.

"Really?"

"Really."

Someone coughed behind them.

"As touching as this conversation is," interrupted the officer, annoyed at the constant display of affection in front of him," We still have to question young Jackson on some of the deeper details-"

"-I'm sure you're quite done now." Apollo's eyes flashed warningly and he patted Percy's head in reassurance as he stood up again and started to lead him away. He _dared_ the officer to follow him," You have your case, you have your details, you have the assaulter's corpse. Throw it in jail for all I care, but you are _done_ asking questions. My ward and I are going now and you will not be following us and will be forgetting us from this point onwards. Oh, and my adoption papers are already signed and legalised."

The officer blinked questioningly, a hint of anger betraying his true feelings.

"Now listen to me-"

Apollo manipulated the mist to show what he wanted, and the man blinked again, this time in confusion.

"I mean," he slurred slightly, obviously dizzied from the rush of mist he had been subjected to," Yes, sir."

As the man stumbled away to join his own brigade, Apollo let out a sigh of relief and thanked the gods that it was all over.

"Come on, Perce," he cajoled, trying for optimism in these trying times while pushing him gently from behind. "Let's get you to my house."

Luckily, he had a place reserved for such occasions (I mean, not for _this_ sort of occasions because who would've guessed Apollo would be adopting an orphaned kid and giving him someplace to stay?) It was merely a place to get away when his job became too burdensome or Zeus had become too overbearing- his _par-tay_ place on Earth. Up until then, only nymphs, dryads and particularly pretty mortals (male, female, he wasn't picky), had entered, but he guessed he had to change that. Wouldn't do for Percy to suddenly walk into room to find Apollo going at _it_. It'd probably scar him for life, and his mom would haunt him from the underworld.

**Eh, still not satisfied, but *shrugs* what can you do about it? REVIEW!**

**p.s. I really don't know how to go about the adoption process so I just made Apollo cut it short. Sorry!**


	4. I Learn Parenting (Help me!) Apollo IV

**Gaaah! So sorry for the late update guys! Was kinda hard to write this all down, in fact, I had to churn this out on three different occasions so I'm really sorry if there're any subtle changes in writing now and then :) Anyway, thanks for your reviews in the previous chapter and special thanks to TheAvidReader, Phoenix1592 and Lord Jace who have successfully crafted a good bit more of this story! Clap guys! Also, lovely haikus people! Here's one for you all: **

**You people are great**

**Much too awesome to be true**

**I feel honoured to have my story favourited by all of you**

**Hehe, not a haiku XD Poem then! Anyway, apologies for any curses in any of my past chapters and this because I _really_ have a problem but I hope it doesn't bother you all too much. Er, that done, ONTO THE STORY!**

**p.s. Reviews like _update soon_ are nice, but detailed comments and compliments are even better! (Haha, I know. I'm a Review Pig XD)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and do not profit from this story.**

Prince of Olympus

It took a while to get to Apollo's home away from home, and the walk there was filled with silence.

If Percy was the son of who he thought he was, then he shouldn't have been this sullen, this quiet, he should have been blabbing nonstop about… stuff. Anything and everything, but not nothing. In fact, Apollo saw for himself in the developing crow's feet dancing around his eyes and the way his mom's eyes shone for that one second they were together in the burning building that he could be and, in actual reality, _was_ a happy kid, smiling a lot and making jokes.

But, in his defense, he _did _lose his mom only a few minutes ago, that _should _warrant for a moment of sadness.

Apollo wondered how Ms. Jackson had been like. Had she been strict and uptight? Nagging and annoying (like Hera was)? Or loving and kind? He guessed it was the latter. A sweet boy like Percy couldn't have belonged to the other two, and if he had two cents worth, he'd bet the rebellious attitude he'd no doubt gained from his _maybe_ father wouldn't sit well with the former two too.

…Okay, he _really _had to clear that up, and schedule a meeting with Poseidon later on while he were at it. It didn't really do for him to keep thinking he was Poseidon's kid then suddenly realise that he wasn't! Imagine the embarrassment. He'd just have to think of a way to make Poseidon slip up and admit that he had a kid without ever hinting he _had_ said kid. Easy peasy. First he'd… Er-? Fiiirst…

Oh what the heck, he'd jump that hurdle when they got to it.

"Sooo," Apollo blurted out, uneasy with the silence. The kid's black head raised a micro-meter from where it'd been hanging, facing the ground. "You have a pet, kid?"

_Oh what the hell_, of all the things to say-

It seemed that Percy was as mystified as him because he looked up long enough to shoot him a puzzled frown. "No?"

"Cuz' you look like the type to have a pet." That's it, Apollo, go on, show him how stupid you are.

"Really?"

"Er, yea! I mean, black hair, green eyes, you look like someone I'd peg as a sort of fish person. Ever had a fish?"

Percy's nose scrunched up adorably at the bizarre conversation," Nah-" he shrugged," Mom tried to give me a fish once, a cool one… a baby clown fish? First chance I got, I released it into the ocean." He said this like he'd done it a hundred times before, like it was a normal occurrence, and Apollo didn't doubt its credibility.

He stared at him weirdly," Why?"

Again, he shrugged," It didn't like it in the tank."

"How do you know?"

A defensive tone developed into his voice like an inflection," I just…saw it," he snapped, hunched and uncomfortable with his probing," The poor thing was swimming in circles! I wasn't about to let it continue like that all its life."

"But what if it liked swimming in circles?"

"It didn't. Trust me." The response was flat.

And the silence was uncomfortable again. Apollo mentally slapped himself.

_Stupid, stupid, stupid._

"It talked to me, alright?" Percy sounded as surprised as Apollo at the admittance.

Out of the corner of his eye, Apollo noted that he had taken a deep breath," I heard it say it didn't like it in the tank."

He tried his best to act unflappable in the face of the break through. _Smart _and _awesome, Apollo, _he crooned smugly, _keep him going._

"Oh?"

Percy gave him a look," What do you mean, 'oh'?" Then his face became more guarded," You think I'm crazy, don't you?"

Apollo threw his arms up, trying to keep track of the conversation and the kid's mood swings. _Children these days_, he said mentally, rolling his eyes.

" Did I _say _you were crazy?" he asked pointedly.

Percy looked down at his shoes, "…No."

"Then when did I ever say you were?"

Percy's shoulders relaxed a tiny bit and he looked up at Apollo with a suspicious gleam in his eye, and maybe a little bit of reluctant hope, like he really wanted it to be true but didn't want to truly believe it lest he get hurt. Apollo felt sad as he thought of how many people had to betray him to get him to act that way.

"So you… don't think I'm crazy?"

The god shrugged," No, I don't think you're crazy. Either that, or I'm crazy too so that means anything that qualifies for crazy, I think normal."

He supressed a grin at the tiny smile his comment drew out of the kid.

…

By the time they reached the homey two-storey building nestled in the snowy landscape, Apollo felt that he'd made a breakthrough through the kid's stony exterior. After establishing that he didn't think he was as mad as a loony fruitcake, Percy had let down his guard a bit and Apollo had been able to draw out a few accidental laughs and even a little bit more of information about his new ward (_That still sounded weird when he thought about it_).

He' found out that Percy was eight, liked jellybeans and despised Barney. Basic stuff like that. Nothing too deep yet, but he hoped Percy would adjust to him in his life soon and _let go_. Learn that Apollo wasn't there to hurt him like those other asshats prior and just _learn_ to let his guards down around him.

"Voila!" Apollo said proudly to the boy who, thankfully, had not known he had been the object of his thoughts seconds earlier," Casa del Apo-Fred." He almost tripped up over there, forgetting he hadn't even revealed his godly identity to the kid yet, but luckily, in his awed state, he didn't even notice.

Percy's eyes bugged out of his head and, for a flash of a second, he saw a glimpse of an excitable, hyper kid behind the stoicism.

"…Wow," was all he offered and Apollo laughed, clapping his hand on his back. Percy stumbled forward. "And this is just the outside!"

…

Apollo gave Percy a quick tour of the place. Unlike his own temple up on Olympus, Apollo had tried to make his place more people-friendly. He didn't want any guests of his to end up too intimidated to do anything but stutter out excuses to leave, _asap _(and didn't that hurt his godly ego whenever that happened)andhe wasn't an uptight god like Zeus, who loved mortals to grovel under his feet 24/7. So he added a dash of jacuzzis, a sprinkle of game consoles, and a pinch of recliners, and the result a day and a half later?

A place only bachelors could dream about.

After nudging Percy away from the 72-inch HD TV, he showed him where he was staying for the mean time: A cosy, but fairly large, bedroom on the second floor, two doors away from the staircase, last room in the wing and closest to the window.

Apollo had chosen the room easy enough. Having not really enough time to spend time on Earth frequently, this was one of the few rooms that hadn't been… _ahem_, defiled yet by his various exploits. In fact, he hadn't even known of its existence until then. Instead of the cool red the other rooms were decked out in, the walls were a paler colour, a little shade lighter than sky blue. Frost blue. Thankfully, the colour was light enough so it wouldn't glare through a second layer of painting, but the rest of the room held only the barest of the bare necessities: a drawer, a side table, a desk, a bed. _Gods_- Why did he even own this room!?

Apollo tried to keep his appalled expression under wraps, though, because Percy was standing beside him and looking at the bare room like a Christmas present come early.

"Is this all for me?"

Apollo craned to hear the soft voice, feeling a sort of heart-tugging sadness when he thought of how Percy could have lived before in the past eight years to see this as paradise.

He pushed the feeling away and forced on a half-hearted grin, the ecstasy of showing Percy the place fading abruptly at the new development. "Yea!" then he tried for cocky-showing off, but instead fell short to an almost hopeful tone. "D'you like it?"

The contact was hesitant, and Percy was slow to move, eyes flickering with indecision with every micro-inch he closed the distance, but Apollo felt that the hug he received in the end was worth the wait.

The thanks that was mumbled from his belly region was answered with a nod because Apollo doubted he could manage anything more than that.

…

It was past midnight when Apollo heard the door to his room squeak open.

After tucking Percy in a few hours ago, he'd gone downstairs for a quick dinner to mull over his rolling thoughts. If he was honest to himself, he was a little bit unsettled.

Being a god, he didn't really have many chances to work on his social life, besides those with his sister and his Olympian family (and the mortals and nymphs he'd brought home weren't counted because he didn't really stay long enough to form bonds with any of them)

And _that_- that moment upstairs the previous hour's ago- had made something happen inside him that Apollo wasn't really sure he recognized.

He'd turned it over while he'd been digging into his lukewarm soup half-heartedly, and he'd tossed and turned over it in his bed for a few hours, and the result?

Absolutely nothing.

Which was probably the reason why he snapped to alertness the second he heard the door hinge turn.

He tensed, ready to grab Percy and run at a moment's notice, (because he would never, _ever_ endanger his charge's life, _ever, _if he could help it) but then said person's head appeared in the doorway. Tousled and messy but still a recognizable brunette.

"Kid?"

The flash of relief was replaced with a wave of concern, and Apollo was patting the place beside him on his huge king-sized bed before he really realized it. Percy scrambled in.

"Anything the matter?"

Now that he'd buried himself into his side, a small ball of Percy in the god's covers and quilts, Apollo realised that the kid was shaking. And sweating. And crying.

His concern sky-rocketed and he awkwardly tried rubbing a comforting (or at least he hoped it was) hand on his back, trying to will the trembles to abate. He wrapped an arm around him silently.

"Percy?"

…

"…i-it was my mom."

-An image of a woman in a burning building. _Take care of him_-

"Oh?"

He felt, rather than heard the small hand starting to fist his shirt.

"…she was in my nightmare…"

At the admission, Apollo felt like slapping himself. Of_ course_ he had a nightmare, s_tupid! _Really! He should have expected it from the start! Had he _honestly _expected it to go Hey-Dad!-My-mom-who-I've-known-for-eight-years-was-lit-on-fire-in-front-of-me-and-now-I'm-an-orphan-but-I-don't-mind-and-will-not-have-nightmares-because-apparently-that's-how-it-goes-in-Apollo's-world!

Then he blinked, because did he _really_ just say (or think) that Percy would call him _dad_? I mean, not that it was a _bad_ thing, but _really_? He's only spent a day with him for god's sakes and he couldn't really expect him to call him dad that fast, in fact-

-Somebody sniffled into him, the vibration and sound pulling him back to the present.

_Oops._

Immediately, he resumed with his petting, feeling guilty for spacing out for a few seconds.

For a moment, the only sounds in the room came from Percy's sobs and the softer sound of Apollo's hand rustling against his shirt. But then the former slowly abated to sniffles, and soon occasional hiccups.

When this happened, Apollo removed the small bundle of warmth from his side and placed him in his lap, Percy's head lolling back to rest tiredly against his back and his own arms coming around to ensconce the boy. His black hair, colour barely visible in the dark, tickled the underside of his chin as he rested his head on the smaller person's.

The feeling from before returned, this time with a vengeance.

"Hey Perce?" Apollo called softly, because he wasn't sure whether the kid had fallen asleep on him or something. There was a shifting in the positioning of the head on his chest. Apollo took that as an acknowledgement. "D'you wanna sleep with me tonight?"

There was a pause- a pause where Apollo very nearly feared he'd taken it too fast and had misinterpreted the reason why Percy had sought him out and had made the boy retreat into himself in the end (_All the effort for nothing!_). And the feeling only increased when he started wriggling in an effort for him to release him from his embrace-

-But then, he simply squirmed over to the rest of the available space on Apollo's bed.

He followed suit.

As Apollo spooned himself around Percy's small form, he felt him tense a second, then two, then felt him make a forced effort to relax. He slung a careful arm over his shoulder.

"Fred?"

_He _really _had to reveal his true self soon_. "Hmm?"

"…Thank you."

"For what?"

"…For adopting me, not laughing at my secret, and not throwing me out when I woke you up."

_Technically,_ he hadn't really been asleep then. "Don't worry 'bout it Perce."

…

"Good night then."

"Night."

And Apollo fell asleep to the sound of even breathing and a warmth in his chest, figuratively and literally.

_Love you_.

**Yay! Apollo finally realises what he's been feeling! Tell me what you think! Anyway, comments in the form of reviews are great so just push that little button down there and make one person in the world really happy! **

**Next update next Saturday!**


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